Two injured as three trains collide in Indiana

Three freight trains have derailed in the US state of Indiana – leaving
mangled railway cars sprewn along the tracks

11:03AM GMT 07 Jan 2012

The accident occurred after a train, which had been pulling mostly empty tankers of ethanol, came to a halt on the tracks only to be apparently rear-ended by a second train on the same line. A third train on parallel tracks then struck the derailed cars.

According to Sergeant Larry LaFlower of the Porter County Sheriff's Department, two of six crew members were taken to the hospital after the accident that happened on Friday afternoon in an area of rural farmland northeast of Valparaiso. He said their injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Officials evacuated 50 to 150 homes within about a mile of the tracks as a precaution, in part due to concerns over the source of billowing black smoke that lingered for hours after the accident.

The operator responsible for the first freight train said in a statement that there appeared to be no significant leaks or spills of hazardous materials.

"It looks like a child had fun with his model train or got upset with his model train," said emergency worker Jim Sherrick. "It is quite a mess, but we're really lucky that nothing worse happened."

Residents were allowed to return to their homes by Friday evening, according to a Porter County official, as crash investigators remained on the scene.